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Pioneer - The HILL Family, of Eramosa
Biographical Sketches of
Early Settlers of Wellington County
Information from: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario.
Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906
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HILL Family, The, of Eramosa.
The founder of this family was the late James Hill,
Sr., who was b. in County Armagh, Ire., in 1780, where he m. Mary Riggs, of the
prominent Irish family of that name, her brother John being a Colonel in the
British Army, and her brother Warren an Admiral in the British Navy, while
another brother, James, was a Church of England minister. They had the
following issue: Graham, James, Jr.; Alexander, John, Mrs. Martin Jestin, Mrs.
John Scott, Mrs. James Perry, and Mary J. (d. unm.).
The late James Hill came to Eramosa with his family in 1829, and purchased lot 6, con. 7, and there d. in 1845. James, Jr., b. County Armagh, Ire., 1811, came to Canada with his parents in 1829. In 1833 he m. Ann Dunbar, dau. of the late Alexander Dunbar. The Dunbars were originally driven out of Scotland to Ireland by the last Stuart persecution, and were a notable family, both in Ireland and in Canada. The late Alexander Dunbar came to Eramosa with his family in 1832. James Hill, Jr., had the following issue: Mrs. John Brooks, James J., and Alexander S. D. James J. Hill, who is one of the foremost railway men in the world, was b. in Eramosa Township in 1837. He was educated at the public schools and at the Rockwood Academy. He became a clerk in Passmore's store in Rockwood, where he remained three years, and with McElroy, Guelph, for one year; but he was ambitious, and struck out for a wider field. He landed in St. Paul, Minn., in 1856, without money, but immediately obtained a position as clerk on the dock. He soon got into the transportation business for himself, later adding to this the coal and wood business, and finally successfully promoted some of the largest railway deals on the continent of America; and stands to-day as one of the foremost railway men of the world. Time nor space will not admit of a detailed sketch of James J. Hill, but he was a Wellington Co. boy, bred and raised here, and no history of the section would be complete without a mention of him. Alexander S. D. Hill, only brother of James J. Hill, was b. in Eramosa in 1839, and was also educated at the public schools and Rockwood Academy. He became a school teacher, commencing to teach in 1862, and continuing at this occupation for twenty years; teaching in Erin two years, in S. S. Guelph Tp., nine years, and in Rockwood nine years. He is probably better known as an educationalist than in any other capacity, as many of the active men of to-day in Erin, Guelph and Eramosa, received their school instruction from Alexander S. D. Hill. He is a man of wide reading and extensive knowledge. In politics he is a strong Conservative, and at election times his services as a public speaker are in demand. He m. Emma M. Day in 1867. Issue: Wilfrid, Frt. Supt. C., B. & Q. Ry.; Norman, farmer, Guelph Tp.; James J., Jr., farmer. Mr. Hill owns the old "Cranberry Farm," con. 2, Eramosa, containing 340 acres, and there resides. From: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario. Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906 |
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